The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Ilex plant, botanically known as Ilex vomitoria, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name `Theo`.
The new Ilex originated from a self-pollination of an unidentified selection of Ilex vomitoria in 1935. The cultivar Theo was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single plant within a population of 10,000 progeny in a controlled environment in Athens, Tex., in 1946. The selection of this plant was based on its semi-dwarf plant habit, short lateral branches with short internodes, dark green rounded leaves, large number of drupes, and tolerance to freezing temperatures in comparison to plants of the parent selection.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken at Athens, Tex., since 1947, has shown that the unique features of this new Ilex are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.